It’s a conundrum. Tiny little yellow potatoes in summertime are a totally irresistible thing. But who wants to heat up the house boiling or roasting them indoors?

Here’s how to get soft, creamy potatoes, with a minimum of indoor cooking (if any). And the best part is, you don’t even have to cut them up into similar sizes, as long as they’re all less than 3-inches long. It’s a forgiving recipe; if the potatoes go too long, don’t fret. Just mash them and serve with a dollop of butter.

Top requirement: Get good potatoes. The most beautiful you can find. That means a trip to the farm market.Read more…

If your farmers market, like my farmers market, is exploding this week, stuff as many leeks as you can into your biodegradable carry-bag and make this. You could serve it alongside a steak or piece of fish, or you could just stuff yourself with leeks and call it a meal.

Directions
Trim the roots and cut off the dark green shoots from the leeks. Remove the outer layer of leaves. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices and wash thoroughly.

Place the leeks in a saucepan with the butter, wine and seasoning. Bring the liquid to the boil, cover the pan, and cook over a low heat for 25-30 minutes. Remove the lid. The leeks should be coated in a buttery sauce, but if there is more liquid remaining, turn up the heat and continue to cook until it has all but evaporated.

Beet salsa with habanero. It’s not nearly as ambitious as it sounds, and it’s an excellent way to dress up a grilled steak or a basket of tortilla chips. And it’s from “Truly Mexican,” by Roberto Santibanez.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and tightly wrap the beets in foil. Bake the beets until they are tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Let them stand wrapped in foil for 15 minutes to help loosen the skins, then open the foil and peel the beets when they’re cool enough to handle. Finely dice the beets; you will have 1 1/2 to 2 cups.

Mix the beets in a bowl with the remainign ingredients and let the salsa stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before you serve it. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt.

Colorado cherries are especially good for baking and cooking — pies, cakes, quickbreads, and, as in this recipe, Cherry Clafoutis.

This one comes from the new book, “Plum Gorgeous,” by Romney Steele. (Not for nothing, Steele, who grew up at her family’s legendary Nepenthe restaurant in northern California, is as good a writer as she is a recipe-developer. The book is a lovely read.)

Use sweeter, darker cherries for this baked dessert, and serve it with a little ice cream. (Perhaps Stranahan’s Whiskey Brickle ice cream from Sweet Action?).

I know, I know, it’s going to be around 1,000 degrees in Denver this weekend. So why am I advocating a bowl of soup?

Because this soup is light, soothing, peppery and cool, and besides it’s a recipe from Richard Grausman.

If anyone can lay claim to being the eminence grise of French cooking in America, it’s Monsieur Grausman, who, after earning the Grand Diplome from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 1967 (where he was a favorite of proprietress Madame Brassart) founded the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), an expansive and long-lasting nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved high school students prepare for careers in the hospitality business.

Here comes a long weekend, which means more than one turn at the grill. Make a batch of chimichurri tonight, and you’ll have it on hand drizzle with abandon all weekend … on salads, steaks, burgers, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, toasted bread, pizza, empanadas, hot dogs… you name it. You can also use it as a marinade for beef or pork. Or bison. Is that enough options?

Make this one tonight, and keep it in the arsenal for company in the future — especially company with eating restrictions. It’s gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free… Most importantly, it’s delicious.Read more…